Most employees injured on the job rely on a state workers’ compensation system. For maritime workers who qualify as seamen, however, the rules are different. A federal law known as the Jones Act may give an injured seaman the right to sue an employer and seek compensation that ordinary workers’ compensation does not provide.
The claim a worker files can make a major difference. Filing under the wrong system or missing a deadline could limit the compensation available.
How Workers’ Compensation Usually Works
Workers’ compensation is generally a no-fault system. An employee usually does not have to prove that the employer caused the injury. The system may cover necessary medical treatment and replace a portion of lost wages, but it generally prevents employees from suing their employers for negligence or recovering damages for pain and suffering.
| Key issue | Workers’ compensation | Jones Act |
| Who is covered? | Most employees | Maritime workers who qualify as seamen |
| Must the worker prove fault? | Generally no | Yes, employer negligence must play a part |
| Can the worker sue the employer? | Usually no | Yes |
| Pain and suffering available? | Generally no | Potentially |
| Jury trial available? | Generally no | Potentially |
What Makes the Jones Act Different?
The Jones Act allows a qualifying seaman who is injured in the course of employment to bring a negligence claim against an employer. Maritime work can involve hazards that are not present in an ordinary workplace. Crew members may work around heavy equipment, moving vessels, slippery decks, dangerous cargo, rough weather, and isolated offshore locations.
Unlike workers’ compensation, a Jones Act claim requires evidence that the employer was negligent. Negligence may include failing to provide proper training, using unsafe equipment, ignoring a known hazard, or requiring crew members to work under dangerous conditions.
The seaman must show that the employer’s negligence played a part in causing the injury. However, the employer’s conduct does not have to be the only cause of the accident.
A successful claim may provide compensation for medical expenses, lost income, reduced future earning ability, physical pain, mental suffering, disability, and other losses. An injured seaman may also have the right to present the case to a jury.
Who Qualifies as a Seaman?
Not everyone who works on or near the water qualifies for protection under the Jones Act. A worker generally must contribute to the function or purpose of a vessel and have a substantial connection to that vessel, or to an identifiable group of vessels, in both the nature and duration of the work.
A job title alone does not answer the question. Captains, deckhands, tankermen, engineers, cooks, and other crew members may qualify. Courts look at the person’s actual duties, where the work was performed, and how closely the job exposed the worker to the risks of working aboard a vessel.
Dockworkers, shipbuilders, and certain other maritime employees may instead qualify for benefits under the federal Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act, which excludes vessel crew members from coverage. Whether the Jones Act or another law applies depends on the worker’s actual duties and connection to a vessel.
Other Rights Available to Injured Seamen
An injured seaman may have rights beyond a Jones Act negligence claim. Maritime law may require an employer to provide maintenance and cure. Maintenance generally covers basic living expenses, while cure covers necessary medical treatment until the worker reaches maximum medical improvement.
A seaman may also have an unseaworthiness claim against a vessel owner if the vessel, its equipment, or its crew was not reasonably fit for its intended purpose. Jones Act negligence, maintenance and cure, and unseaworthiness claims have different legal requirements and should be considered separately.
Speak With a Maritime Injury Attorney
Determining whether someone qualifies as a Jones Act seaman can be complicated, and employers or insurance companies may dispute a worker’s status or challenge the cause of the injury. Before becoming an attorney, David E. James worked aboard towboats and ships and served as a tankerman during cargo operations on barges. He brings that firsthand experience to his representation of injured workers in Texas and Louisiana.
If you were injured offshore, on an inland waterway, or while working aboard a vessel, contact David E. James for a free consultation about the laws that may apply to your case.